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Alb impact of court judgments on adoption - november 2014 (1) (1)

1.
National
Adoption
Leadership
Board
Impact of Court Judgments on
Adoption
What the judgments do and do
not say
November 2014

2.
Impact of Court Judgments on Adoption
What the judgments do and do not say
Context
1. Over recent years we have seen more children finding permanent and loving
homes through a more timely adoption system.
2. But in the last 12 months we have witnessed a significant reduction in the number
of placement orders made and in the number of decisions made by local
authorities to pursue care plans for adoption. These changes risk reversing the
substantial progress made.
3. The national Adoption Leadership Board, Family Justice Board, and the
Department for Education have heard regularly that these changes are a
response to a number of high profile court judgments on care and adoption order
cases, notably Re B and Re B-S1. Some of this feedback suggests a degree of
misinterpretation of these judgments. This appears to have resulted in inaccurate
assumptions being made about the judgments which, in reality, do not alter the
legal basis for the making of care and placement orders.
4. In response, the Adoption Leadership Board has developed this short guide with
support from an experienced Queen’s Counsel to clarify the meaning of the key
court judgments.
5. The principal messages from the guide are:
The judgments do not alter the legal test for adoption.
Courts must be provided with expert, high quality, evidence-based analysis
of all realistic options for a child and the arguments for and against each of
these options. This does not mean every possible option. The judgment in
Re B-S clearly states that the “evidence must address all the options which
are realistically possible”.
Where such analysis has been carried out and the local authority is satisfied
that adoption is the option required in order to meet the best interests of the
child, it should be confident in presenting the case to court with a care plan
for adoption.
1 A summary of the key cases is provided in the Annex.

3.
MYTHS
6. Five principal myths appear to be prevalent at present:
MYTH 1 – the legal test for adoption has changed
7. It is clear that the judgment in Re B-S did not change the legal test for adoption.
8. Adoption is – and has always been – a “last resort”. It involves permanently
severing ties between a child and his or her birth family. It is, therefore, quite right
that in cases of non-consensual adoption, a court needs to be satisfied that no
other realistic course will be in the interests of the child, whose welfare
throughout his or her life is paramount.
9. Just because adoption is a “last resort”, it does not follow that it is not also the
option that is necessary for a significant number of children in order to find them a
permanent and loving home. If no other realistic option is available, adoption may
well be required to meet the child’s best interests. It has always been the case
that the court must be satisfied of this before approving a care plan for adoption
or making a placement or adoption order.
10. The law has not changed. It is exactly the same law under which we have seen a
significant increase in numbers of adoptions over recent years.
MYTH 2 – to satisfy the courts, all alternative options must be considered
11. In Re B-S, the President stated:
“First, there must be proper evidence both from the local authority and
from the guardian. The evidence must address all the options which are
realistically possible and must contain an analysis of the arguments for
and against each option.” [emphasis added]
12. The court does not need to see in-depth analysis of options which are not
realistic for the child concerned, nor an assessment of every option that is put

4.
forward by a family. Feedback from local authorities suggests that some families
may be asking for multiple and unrealistic assessments of numerous and
unsuitable connected persons. It is absolutely right that decisions must not be
rushed due to a need for speed – and this was re-stated in both Re B and Re B-S.
However, everyone involved in the decision-making process must at all times
balance the need for fairness with the impact of any delay on the child. The law
is clear that any delay in coming to a decision is likely to prejudice the child’s
welfare (section 1(2) of the Children Act 1989 and section 1(3) of the Adoption
and Children Act 2002), and that this must be borne in mind when making
decisions.
13. Given this, the courts and local authorities must consider whether such
assessments are proportionate. If a local authority can demonstrate that
assessing another connected person would cause unacceptable delay to a child,
this is a legitimate reason under the law for not doing so.
14. The Court of Appeal recently restated this principle. The judgement in Re M
(handed down October 2014) states that:
“The fact that speedy action will improve the prospects of a successful
adoption for a particular child of a particular age must take its place in the
overall appraisal of the case. Sometimes when considered with all the other
factors, it will dictate that the court approves a plan for adoption of the child,
even when full weight is given to the important reminders in recent cases,
starting of course with Re B, that steps are only to be taken down the path
towards adoption if it necessary.”
15. The courts do, however, need to see expert, high quality, evidence-based
assessments of all realistic options: only after evaluating all the pros and cons of
such options can the court conclude that only adoption is consistent with the
child’s welfare throughout his or her life.

5.
MYTH 3 – If adoption is only appropriate where “nothing else will do”, foster
care or special guardianship should be pursued instead
16. In Re B the Supreme Court stated that making a care order which is likely to
result in the child being adopted against the parent’s wishes is a “very extreme
thing”. Accordingly, the court must be satisfied that it is “necessary” to do so in
order to protect the interests of the child, and that “nothing else will do”.
17. “Nothing else will do” does not mean settling for an option which will not meet the
child’s physical and emotional needs. Nor does it mean that adoption should be
dismissed because a child might otherwise be brought up in foster or residential
care.
18. This was set out by the Court of Appeal in Re M-H, handed down only last month
(October 2014). This stated that:
“the fact that there is another credible option worthy of examination will not
mean that the test of “nothing else will do” automatically bites. It couldn’t
possibly.” [emphasis added]
19. In the same judgment the Court of Appeal also stated that:
“the terminology frequently deployed in arguments to this court and, no doubt
to those at first instance, omit a significant element of the test as framed by
both the Supreme Court and this court, which qualifies the literal interpretation
of “nothing else will do”.”
20. Under the law, adoption should be pursued where it is necessary in the interests
of a child’s welfare. Necessary in the interests of the child’s welfare will include
where the child will benefit from belonging to a life-long, legally permanent family
(in comparison to remaining a looked after child, or being placed with someone
unrelated to them under a special guardianship order which would cease at the
age of 18). The benefits of adoption should, therefore, be weighed up against the
loss created by severing the legal bond between the child and his or her birth
family. This requires an evidence-based balancing of the gains and losses in

6.
terms of the child’s welfare that takes into account the “enhanced welfare
checklist” set out in the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
21. This means that if the appropriate analysis has demonstrated that adoption is
plainly better than any other outcome (in the sense that it is the only and best
way of meeting the child’s needs), adoption should be pursued.
22. The law makes clear that, if a child cannot be cared for by his or her birth family,
the local authority must consider whether any connected person (such as
extended family or friends) could care for the child. Any assessment of a
connected person needs to consider whether that person is capable of providing
good enough care (with appropriate support) until the child achieves his or her
majority or is old enough to live independently. The child has the right to live in
their extended family and realistic options must be properly considered. But living
in their extended family should not be at the cost of having their physical and
emotional needs met. Children should only be placed with a connected person
where the court is satisfied that the assessments reveal no real likelihood of the
child coming to significant harm.
MYTH 4 – because it is a “last resort” planning for adoption must wait
23. Local authorities should plan at the earliest possible stage for the possibility of
adoption where it seems possible that other options - such as reunification with
family, or care by family or friends - might not prove a realistic course of action.
That does not mean pre-empting any decision. Nor does it remove the need to
provide expert, high quality, evidence-based assessments of all realistic options
to the court – which is essential in every case. But planning ahead is necessary
to avoid delay and allows for a more timely process in achieving the right
outcome for the child.

7.
MYTH 5 – the 26 week rule applies to placement orders
24. Under the law as it came into force on 22 April 2014, any application for a care
order or a supervision order must be completed within 26 weeks (unless the court
is satisfied that delay is necessary, in which case a court may grant an
extension). Placement order applications are not subject to the 26 week time
limit. However, if the case is one in which the care plan is for adoption, if it is
possible to complete the placement order application within the 26 week time
limit, then that is likely to be in the best interests of the child, as we know that
delay damages children.
TRUTHS
TRUTH 1 – high quality assessment and evidence is essential in all cases
25. In Re B-S the President reflected on the adequacy of the local authority and
CAFCASS evidence that had been presented in some cases and the ability of the
courts to form robust judgments as a result.
26. High quality, reflective, evidence-based assessment is essential to underpin all
social work and ensure that every decision taken is in the best interests of
children. The decision to pursue a plan for adoption for a child is absolutely no
different in terms of these requirements.
27. Good quality evidence, presented to the courts, needs to be more than just
history and narrative, but provide clear assessment and analysis. That applies to
evidence from the local authority itself and from expert reports. (See ‘The
process of reform: the revised PLO and the local authority’, [2013] Fam Law 680,
and ‘The process of reform: expert evidence’, [2013] Fam Law 816). It also
applies to pre-proceedings work which must be carried out diligently to identify
those families where the provision of support might make the difference to them
being able to provide good enough care to meet the child’s needs, or to identify
family or friends who could do likewise.

8.
28. What the court needs is expert analysis, from both the social worker and the
guardian, which is evidence-based and focused on the factors in play in the
particular case, which analyses all the realistically possible options, and which
provides clear conclusions and recommendations, adequately reasoned through
and based on the evidence.
29. Where local authorities have carried out such assessments and concluded that
only adoption will do, they should continue to be confident in presenting cases to
court with adoption recommendations.
30. The new social worker evidence template, along with training materials, launched
in July 2014, is designed to help social workers better present evidence to the
court. The template has been agreed with the President of the Family Division
and is compliant with the requirements on local authorities.
TRUTH 2 – The judgments criticised some cases where the test for granting
leave to oppose the making of an adoption order had been applied too harshly
31. The Re B-S judgment found that, in some cases, some courts had too harshly
and too narrowly applied the test for granting birth parent(s) “leave to oppose” the
making of an adoption order. However, the test that a court applies when birth
parent(s) apply for leave to oppose an adoption order has not changed. The
overriding consideration is, and always has been, the welfare of the child
throughout his or her life.
32. Section 47 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 states that the court may not
give leave to oppose unless it is satisfied that there has been a change in
circumstances. This is a two stage test – first, the court has to be satisfied that
there has been a change in circumstances, and, if there has been such a change,
the court then has to decide whether to grant leave.
33. Previously, some courts had described the test as “stringent” and had held that
leave should only be granted to parent(s) in “exceptionally rare circumstances”.

9.
The Court of Appeal in Re B-S criticised this interpretation and re-stated the two-stage
test for considering leave to oppose:
a) Has there been a change in circumstances?
b) If so, should leave to oppose be given, bearing in mind all the
circumstances in the case and particularly a) the parent(s)’ ultimate
prospects of success of resisting the making of an adoption order if given
leave, and b) the impact on the child if the parent(s) are or are not given
leave to oppose, taking into account his or her welfare throughout his or
her life. The child’s welfare is paramount in this consideration.
34. The law is clear that the child’s welfare is paramount and overrides parents’
rights. For example, the welfare of the child might require a child to remain in an
adoptive placement even though the circumstances of the birth parents have
significantly changed, such as where a child is likely to suffer significant
emotional or psychological harm (as opposed to short-term distress) in the event
of an adoptive placement being disrupted.
35. The judgment does not make it easier to obtain permission to oppose an
application for an adoption order. The test remains the welfare of the child
throughout his or her life.

10.
ANNEX A
Case Law: Summary of Facts
Re B
i. The parents challenged the making of a care order based on a care plan that
the child should be placed for adoption.
ii. F had a long criminal history. He had spent 15 years of his adult life in prison
and had previously used Class A drugs.
iii. M’s life had been “hugely dysfunctional”. In 1986, when M was 15 years old,
her step-father began a sexual relationship with her and, in 1999, they had a
daughter together. M’s relationship with her eldest daughter ended when M left
the family home in 2009 and care proceedings in respect of that daughter were
still ongoing when this case came before the Supreme Court. In 2003, M was
found guilty of a series of frauds and sentenced to two years in prison. She
was later sentenced to a further 27 months for attempting to pervert the course
of justice. Consultant psychiatrists instructed in connection with the criminal
proceedings diagnosed her with a chronic psychiatric disorder that led her to
exaggerate physical symptoms and make multiple complaints in order to elicit
care from others.
iv. M and F began a relationship in 2009 and this case concerned their daughter,
‘Amelia’, born on 22.04.2010. Amelia had been removed at birth, but the
parents had attended every contact session (3-5 times a week) and they had
not put a foot wrong during contact.
v. The trial judge found that there was a risk that Amelia would suffer significant
emotional and psychological harm. There was a risk that she would be
presented for medical treatment she did not require due to M’s psychiatric
condition, and there was a mass of evidence that the parents were
fundamentally dishonest, manipulative and antagonistic towards professionals.
The experts disagreed as to whether Amelia could be safely placed with her
parents but all agreed that she could only be placed with the provision of multi-disciplinary
support which would require honest co-operation from the parents –

11.
the court found that the parents were unable to co-operate in this way. Care
orders were made based on a care plan that Amelia would be placed for
adoption.
vi. The majority in the Supreme Court agreed with the trial judge’s findings that the
parents would not co-operate with professionals, with whom contact would be
essential for Amelia’s well-being and found that the decision to make a care
order with a view to adoption was necessary and proportionate in the light of
those findings. The appeal was therefore dismissed and the care order stood.
Key points of the Supreme Court judgment:
The threshold for making of a care order is set by s31(2) of the Children Act 1989
vii. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that a likelihood of significant harm means “no
more than a real possibility that it will occur but a conclusion to that effect must
be based upon a fact or facts established on a balance of probabilities”. The
more significant the harm, the less the required level of likelihood and vice
versa. Deficiency in parental character alone is not enough; the link between
the parental character deficiency and the deficiency in the care given to the
child must be demonstrated. Further, the resulting deficiency in care must
either cause significant harm or create a likelihood of significant harm. Article 8
of the European Convention on Human Rights has no part to play in deciding
whether the threshold has been crossed, although it comes into play when
considering whether it would be proportionate to make a care order taking into
account how the threshold was crossed.
Making care orders
viii. Making a care order that is likely to result in the child being adopted against the
parent’s wishes is a “very extreme thing”, “a last resort”. The judge must be
satisfied that it is “necessary” to do so in order to protect the interests of the
child, in other words, that “nothing else will do”. The child’s interests are
paramount and those interests include being brought up by his or her natural
family, ideally his or her natural parents. Only in exceptional circumstances,

12.
when no other course is possible in the child’s interests, is a care order
justified, based on a care plan for adoption.
Re B-S [2013] EWCA Civ 1146
ix. M’s two children were removed from her care in February 2011 when they were
2 and 3 years old. In October 2011, the mother’s consent was dispensed with
and the two children were made the subject of care and placement orders.
Contact between the mother and the children ceased in December 2011 and
the children were placed with prospective adopters in April 2012. In May 2013,
the adoption application was listed for hearing and M applied for leave to
oppose under s.47(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
x. The trial judge acknowledged that M had undergone “an astonishing change in
circumstances” since the making of the care and placement orders. She had
left her abusive partner, married a man serving in the forces, had a child with
him and been assessed by two local authorities who had decided there was no
need to start proceedings in relation to the new child. However, her application
was refused on the basis that it was “entirely improbable” she would ultimately
succeed in having the children returned to her care, and adoption orders were
made.
xi. M appealed against the refusal of her application for leave to oppose. The
Court of Appeal determined that the trial judge had been entitled to make
findings on the evidence that the children had had “terrible experiences”, they
needed stability and care, and there was a risk that M might not be able to
cope. They went on to decide that in the light of those findings, the trial judge
had also been right to conclude it was in the children’s best interests that M’s
application for leave to oppose was refused and M’s appeal was dismissed.
xii. The Court of Appeal took the opportunity to reconsider the test to be applied to
applications for leave to oppose in light of Re B and made some general
comments on adoption proceedings.

13.
Key points in relation to approving a care plan for adoption and granting a
placement order
xiii. The Court of Appeal reiterated what was said in Re B about adoption being the
most extreme of the permanence options available. It also warned judges to
probe when there is any reason to suspect that local authorities may be
pressing for a more drastic form of order because it is unable or unwilling to
support a less interventionist form of order due to resourcing issues.
xiv. The Court of Appeal stated that, “We have real concerns, shared by other
judges, about the recurrent inadequacy of the analysis and reasoning put
forward in support of the case for adoption”. The court pinpointed two essential
requirements when the court is being asked to approve a care plan for adoption
or make a non-consensual placement order or adoption order:
x Proper evidence – there must be an analysis of the arguments for and
against all options, which are realistically possible. This must be supported
by evidence relating to the facts of the case and a fully reasoned
recommendation; and
x Adequately reasoned judgment – there should be a global, holistic
evaluation of all of the options, taking into account the pros and cons of
each option before deciding which option is best for the child’s welfare. The
judge should not take a linear approach that isolates and rejects each option
in turn for its deficits and then leaves only the most draconian option
standing without considering the deficits and proportionality of that option.
xv. Reference was made to the 26 week timetable noting that, where the proposal
before the court is non-consensual adoption, but the court does not have the
required evidence to properly equip it to make a decision on such a grave
issue, an adjournment should be directed, even if this takes the case over 26
weeks.

14.
Key points in relation to applications for leave to oppose the making of an
adoption order
xvi. Previous case law described the test for an application for leave to oppose
made under s47(5) as “stringent” and the circumstances when such an
application would succeed as “exceptionally rare”. The Court of Appeal in Re B-S
said these phrases should no longer be used in relation to these applications.
xvii. These applications will nearly always be made when a child is living with a
prospective adopter following the making of a care order and a placement
order. However these facts alone cannot justify a refusal because, otherwise
the application to oppose will not provide a ‘real remedy’. The Court of Appeal
set out the proper approach to applications for leave to oppose as a two stage
process:
x Has there been a change in circumstances?
x If so, should leave to oppose be given, bearing in mind all the
circumstances in the case and particularly a) the parent’s ultimate prospects
of success of resisting the making of an adoption order if given leave, and b)
the impact on the child if the parent is or is not given leave to oppose, taking
into account his or her welfare throughout his or her life? The child’s welfare
is paramount in this consideration.
xviii. In answer to the second question, Re B should be at the forefront of the judge’s
mind. The judge must consider the pros and cons of giving and refusing leave
and, the greater the positive change in circumstances, the more compelling the
reasons must be for refusing leave.
xix. The mere passage of time since the child was placed with prospective adopters
cannot be determinative, although the older the child and the longer they have
been placed, the greater the adverse impact of disturbing arrangements is likely
to be.

15.
xx. The judge must also not attach undue weight to the short-term consequences
and the adverse impact on the prospective adopters and the child of a
contested adoption application, bearing in mind that the paramount
consideration is the child’s welfare throughout his or her life.
xxi. The Court of Appeal urged judges to bear in mind that “the test should not be
set too high, because…parents…should not be discouraged either from
bettering themselves or from seeking to prevent the adoption of their child by
the imposition of a test which is unachievable” (Re P (Adoption: Leave
Provisions) [2007] EWCA Civ 616).